I'll Be Here
by TmoVie
Summary: The early life of Chuck Bass through the eyes of William, Bart's best friend.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok so I randomly had this idea when I was at camp. But I just got around to writing it. Mainly it's just about Chuck's life before/maybe later (if I write more) during the show, just through the eyes of Bart's best friend and fellow Bass Industries higher up worker. **

**So as always, please review if you like it, cause I absolutely love reviews!!!! =D**

Walking through the door he was greeted by hushed conversations, varying shades of black and grey clothing, and downturned faces. Immediately he caught the eyes of a fellow Bass Industries board member as she weaved through the crowd to reach him.

"William, I'm so glad you made it. He's not doing so well, he hasn't even come out of his room to hold his son. The boy's having a fit without him. You're his best friend, you have to go convince him to come out. Jack's in there with him now, this is the first time I've ever seen him show any form of brotherly affection. Still, you must go comfort him," she breathed out leaving no room for comments from the man, then waved him towards Bart's office.

William weaved his way through the crowds of people stopping every once and awhile to shake someone's hand or comment on the tragic events. When he finally reached the door he paused, taking a minute to prepare himself for what might be inside, then he turned the knob and entered.

The first things that caught his eye were the five bottles of scotch placed on the desk. Three were already empty and another was already halfway done. Bart was sitting in his chair with his head slumped over on the desk, the only sign of life was his shoulder's slight movement along with his sobs. Jack sat in a seat on the side of the desk, a shot glass in his hand and his other hand firmly placed on his brother's shoulder for support. Although Bart was too overcome with grief to hear him enter Jack raised his head at the noise.

"William, dear boy. Come join us," he raised his glass in greeting. Hearing who the visitor was made Bart sit up, when he did Will could see the tear tracks running down his cheeks and a look of utter despair and pain that lined every inch of his normally solid, strong face. He stood up and pulled Will into a giant hug, almost collapsing with grief.

"Why did this happen? Everything was perfect, so why did this happen?" Bart sobbed into his shoulder. As Will patted his back in comfort he remembered the last time that he saw Evelyn Bass alive.

_As he walked towards Bart's office he could only slightly make out the laughter from behind the door. When he opened he saw Bart and Evelyn sitting side-by-side eating lunch and laughing. The table was covered with wallpaper choices and both of their hands were placed lightly on top of her large baby bump._

_"Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting. I just have some papers for you to sign Bart," he passed them to Bart's waiting hand as he walked over to Evelyn, who had finally managed to raise herself from the chair. "Evelyn, getting more beautiful everyday. How's the baby?" he questioned. _

_"You don't have to pretend. I know I look like a whale. And he's doing amazing. Want to feel him kick?" she said excitedly grabbing Will's hand and placing it over her stomach, giggling at his surprised expression. _

_"So…'he'? It's going to be a boy?"_

_"We don't know that," Bart answered as he handed the papers back to Will. "She just thinks it'll be a boy. Meanwhile I think it'll be a girl."_

_"Well it won't. It'll be a boy and his name will be Charles," she said, her voice showing that it was a closed discussion._

_"Anything you want, love," Bart answered, love evident in his voice and the way he was now looking at his wife. _

_"I'll just leave now. Great to see you again Evelyn," Will gave her a large hug, or as large as he could with her bump separating them. After a quick kiss on the cheek, he left._

"I'm so sorry Bart. Nobody saw this coming. But listen, you need to come out. You have a son now, and she wouldn't want you to avoid him." At his words Bart raised his head and seemed to pause, almost thinking through his words, "I don't know how to…I don't know how to do this without her," he admitted.

"You can do it. Just think of what she'd want you to do." At this Bart nodded his head and began walking towards the door closely followed by Will and then Jack, who had been standing back watching the exchange.

When Bart walked into the main room everybody seemed to stop talking, turning toward him. They're journey to the other side of the apartment seemed to take ages as constant business associates and distant relatives stopped their progress. Engulfing Bart in hugs, crying, and giving him the standard condolences. When Will reached the door to the nursery Bart was already standing there, his face showing the fear on his face. "You can do this," he whispered reassuring in his ear.

When they opened the door they came across a group of women standing around a nanny holding a screaming child in her arms. They were all trying to calm him down and keep him away from the sadness surrounding his arrival. But Will could tell just by looking at the child that he knew what had happened. In his eyes there was more than just a newborn's unhappiness, there was something deeper. It almost mirrored the despair that he had just seen in Bart's eyes earlier.

All the women turned towards them when they saw the three men enter the room and they all cleared the path of Bart to his son. When his son was right before him Will noticed the fear take over Bart's eyes and the hesitance in his features, he just hoped he wouldn't run away again like at the hospital.

_"Mr. Bass?" The nurse walked up to the man impatiently pacing around the waiting room. William stood up from his chair to join them._

_"Yes. What's happened? Is she ok?" Bart rushed out, angered and worried about having to be pushed from the room because of some complications. _

_The nurse took awhile to deliberate between what to tell him first. "Well, you have a son, sir. He's gorgeous and completely healthy."_

_Bart seemed to lighten up at the news, almost laughing at his wife's correct assumption. Then he stopped, "But what about my wife?" he demanded. _

_"Well, there was a complication during the birth. And…I don't know how else to tell you this, but she's dead. I'm so sorry, sir."_

_The minute the words left her mouth Bart had collapsed against the wall, letting out a pained scream. When Will walked towards him attempting to comfort him, Bart pushed him away then began almost running out of the hospital. _

_"Bart! Bart, come back! What about your son!" William yelled until he could no longer see him. _

After much deliberating Bart reached out and held his son for the first time. The baby's cries immediately stopped as he began to cuddle closer to his father almost reaching out to comfort him. As awkward as it looked to most of the women in the room Will could see Bart's eyes soften as he looked down at his son, tears almost forming in the corners of his eyes as he tried to remain composed.

"Bart, you haven't named him yet. He needs a name," the women who had handed him over whispered.

"Charles. His name is Charles. That's what she wanted it to be." And as a tear escaped down his cheek, Bart turned, handed Charles to William, and disappeared out the door. After one long look at his nephew Jack turned and followed his brother out the door to continue comforting him.

Will looked down at the boy who was obviously unhappy with his dad's quick departure, but luckily hadn't started crying again. When he caught Charles' eyes he leaned down and almost whispered to him, "It'll be ok. You'll be ok and your dad will be ok. And you don't have to worry, because I'll always be here for you." At these words of comfort Charles snuggled into his arms and gave him a small smile before falling asleep in the man's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Going to the Bass penthouse had become a regular occurrence over the years; he had even been there when Bart had bought the place. Over the years not much changed, the furniture was almost always the same, when Bart met Evelyn suddenly it seemed more like a home. She transformed it, and after she was gone it changed again. This time though it seemed more dark and sad. Much too sad for a home where a 7 year old lived. There weren't any toys lying around, no stains on any of the rugs, not a thing out of place.

The place was deathly quite, as it had been since the day Chuck was born. But as Will walked towards Bart's office he got closer to Chuck's bedroom and stopped in front of the door, listening to the commotion inside.

"When is my dad gonna come say goodnight to me? He never says goodnight," the little boy screamed at what Will assumed was his nanny.

"Bart is really busy, Chuck. He'll come say goodnight to you when he's done with his work," the lady tried to keep the boy calm.

"He's always busy! He just doesn't like me. He never even talks to me," the boy's screams quickly died down until he was holding back tears.

"Now that's not true. Just last night he watched that movie with you. And you two had a nice dinner together," she said attempting to soothe the boy.

"But he still doesn't like me. All because I killed mommy."

After those words Will couldn't take anymore. He turned towards Bart's office. Angry at his best friend for allowing his son to think like that. His anger increased during the short walk to open Bart's door. As soon as he did though he regretted it. He swiftly covered his eyes and began yelling out apologies. He stood there for a minute looking anywhere except for the couple by the desk, the entire room was filled with an awkward silence. As soon as the young woman was gone, after muttering a soft, "Sorry." William turned to Bart, who had somehow in that short time sat down in his chair and completely fixed his appearance. All signs of his previous activities gone.

"I'm sorry about that Will. But like I said the last time this happened, you really should learn to knock," Bart said with a humorous look on his face.

"What was that?" Will practically screamed while Bart looked back, now confused.

"I'm pretty sure we both know what that was. And I'm not really sure I should be the one to explain it to you," he slowly spoke, looking warily at his friend.

"I know what it was, Bart. I mean why the hell are you in here with some girl when your son is in the other room crying cause you aren't there." The moment the words came out Bart froze.

"The nanny is there with him. And anyway I spent some time with him yesterday. The boy's tough, he knows I can't always be there."

"That isn't enough Bart. You can't just see the boy every other day and expect everything to be ok. He at least has a right to know," Will shouted back, both men were now standing up.

"He's 7 years old, Will!"

"And she was his mother, Bart!" his voice dropped lower, taking on a caring tone, "I've known you since we were 10 and I know that you are better then this."

Bart turned around, softly whispering, "Well that was before it all happened."

William knew by his tone that it was the end of their discussion and he quietly walked out of the room and past the cries from Chuck's bedroom, never once looking back.

********

It had been two weeks since he'd set foot in the Bass home. Sure he had seen Bart at work but all their conversations were limited to business talk and as few words as they both could get out. But now he was back. There was a serious deal with the Japanese that needed them both to put in some extra work, and somehow that ended up with another trip to the Bass'. But when he walked past Chuck's room something stopped him. This time there wasn't any yelling, but instead as Will pressed his ear to the door he heard a small sniffling.

He slowly pushed open the door to see Chuck sitting with his back to the door on the edge of the bed, hunched over something, his shoulder moving with his sobs. As soon as Chuck heard Will's footsteps he turned around softly mentioning, "You should really knock."

As soon as Will came and sat next to Chuck, he could see a frame sitting on his lap. He slowly reached out and took it from Chuck's limp hands, he looked down to see Evelyn Bass smiling up at him. While he was looking at the picture Chuck said, "Bart came in and told me about her. He didn't tell me that much though, he left really quickly."

William handed the picture back as he looked down at Chuck and his tear marked face. He watched as he looked down at his mother and his eyes softened, glistening with tears yet to be shed.

He turned his head to meet Will's stare. "Why does he never talk about her?"

"Well, he really loved her. And it's hard for him to think that she's gone."

"He loved her…" Chuck said, so softly that Will wasn't sure that he even said anything. "I'm never going to fall in love, Will," he said matter-of-factly.

"What? Why not?" Will asked, shocked by the boy's words.

"Because if I never fall in love then I can never lose her and I'll be happy," the boy explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well Chuck, sometimes you can't stop it. You can't control love."

"Yes I can. I'm Chuck Bass," the boy said as if that fixed everything as more tears began rolling down his cheeks. Will leaned his arm over till he was holding the boy, comforting him.

A little while later William walked into Bart's office. "Where have you been? We have a lot to work on," Bart said when he heard the door close. After Will didn't say anything he paused and looked up at him, questioning with his eyes.

"You did the right thing…. telling him," Bart's eyes looked down when he realized what he was talking about.

"Well you were right. She was his mother, he had a right to know. You're always right about that kind of stuff."

"He's a great kid. You should really spend more time with him."

Bart didn't answer, instead he just tapped the papers on his desk. "Let's get to work." And just like that all traces of their previous conversation was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Will was early as he walked into the Bass penthouse, a box clutched in his hand. When he first stepped out he paused for a minute, he could swear that he heard laughing in the main room. After double-checking that he was in the right place he walked out to see where the noise was coming from. He was greeted by Jack sitting next to Chuck on the couch, passing pictures to him.

"William!" Jack exclaimed as he stood up to shake his hand. "I was just showing Chuck here some pictures of my… conquests, you might say, back home. And can I just tell you this boy is a genius!" He kept laughing as he sat back down and threw his arm around Chuck's shoulder, a large grin on the almost 11 year olds face.

"It's been too long," Will responded sarcastically.

Before any of them could say another word Bart came walking into the room, freezing when he saw his brother.

"Bart, I just came by to see whether or not you'd reviewed my application," Jack said, taking on a more business like voice.

"Let's talk in my office. Will, join us. And Charles, just stay here look at the pictures of… women," Bart said, surprised, taking a minute to look at Jack's pictures, before shaking his head and walking towards his office. The two other men followed.

When they got into the office Bart busied himself by unpacking his briefcase, leaving Will and Jack standing awkwardly by the wall. "So, are you going to tell me what you've decided?" Jack snapped.

"I've gotten you a position as head of Bass Industries new branch… in Australia."

"Australia?" Jack practically screamed. "You've got to be kidding me? I can't move to Australia!"

"Yes, you can. I got you a plane ticket for a few hours from now. You start work immediately." When Jack opened his mouth to say something else, Bart cut him off, "You're not cut out for this kind of work, Jack. I'm doing you a big favor, so you better not screw this up."

He handed Jack a plane ticket then turned back to his desk, dismissing him. Jack, too angry to form words, stormed out of the office.

The sound of the door slamming echoed in the room. Will cleared his throat, "Australia's all the way around the world, Bart."

"I do realize that, Will. But thanks for the geography lesson," Bart said, still not making eye contact.

"He's your brother."

"Yeah, and you know what kind of brother he is. Just last year he tried to plant heroin in my office. He's slept with every women on my staff."

Will nodded his head, "I'll give you that. But really, tonight? He should at least be able to stay for Chuck's birthday dinner."

"Do you really think that Charles needs a guy like Jack around? He brought him pictures of women he's slept with," Bart countered.

Will laughed at this point. He couldn't help but agree with Bart, they both moved out the door, realizing they should be heading out to dinner. When they walked into the main room they didn't see anybody there. "Chuck!" Bart yelled to the empty house. After a minute of silence he pulled out his phone, "Shit," he muttered.

***********

Will was walking down the hall of Bass Industries, his head bent over all of his paperwork, when he ran into someone. "Chuck? What are you doing here?"

"Bart wanted to talk to me," she mumbled, trying to hold back the rejected look that was on his face.

Will could tell that something Bart had said had upset Chuck so he quickly said, "Hey, I was just heading back to my office and I really need a break from all of this paperwork. Come with me."

Chuck meekly nodded as they walked into Will's room, both relaxing on his comfy chairs. Will busied himself with his work, while Chuck stared down at his hands.

"Jack told me what happened and I was angry so I left. Nate and I went out and met up with Carter Baizen and he took us to a club and gave us joints," Chuck breathed out, looking up at Will, worried about his reaction.

Will just nodded his head, almost smiling, "And did you have fun?"

Chuck, surprised, answered, "Yeah… yeah I really did actually."

"Well, I'm glad then. Much better then a dinner with your father and I would've been. I'm surprised you even pulled it off, it took your father and I till we were 15 to be able to get into any clubs," Chuck laughed at this confession, a smug smirk lining his face. "But you never ended up getting my present so here you go. Happy Birthday, Chuck," Will smiled as he handed him the package.

When Chuck opened it, he pulled out the long fabric, delight spreading across his features. He slid the scarf around his neck, "It's perfect," he whispered.

"Well I figured everybody should have a signature. And when I saw this I thought it would be perfect," Will shrugged.

"Thanks," Chuck mumbled, still staring at the fabric around his neck, not reaching Will's eyes. "I don't think Bart even bought my gifts himself. He just bought me a bunch of shirts, a TV, and gave me money."

"Well, your father has never been a particularly good gift giver. He used to buy me socks for my birthday. He gets a little confused, since we're not women he doesn't have the fall back of buying us really expensive jewelry," Will admitted, getting a large laugh from Chuck. "Hey, you want to come a learn a bit about the business. You are heir to Bass Industries throne, might as well be prepared," Will laughed.

Chuck paused for a minute before shyly nodding his head and moving to sit next to Will.

*********

"May I ask what you and my son were talking about for the past two hours?" Bart scowled after Will walked into his office.

"I was trying to turn him against you to undermine the company," Will laughed, sarcastically.

Instead of laughing along Bart frowned, "He's already against me," he mumbled.

"And we all know why," Will couldn't stop himself from saying, freezing at the death glare Bart gave him. "No, I just gave him his birthday present and taught him a bit about the company. The boy's a natural, Bart."

"He's only 11," Bart countered.

"Exactly. He's 11 now, just think about when he's older. He could probably run this company by the time he turns 18."

"Really," Bart said, obviously unconvinced.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Will said seriously. Bart opened his mouth, trying to think of something to say. After a few minutes of thinking and not coming up with anything Will decided to cut in, "Exactly. Which is why it still surprises me that you don't listen to my advice. You should put more faith in your son."

Bart paused for a minute before he responded, "I've got to call my lawyer, I just had a brilliant idea. Can you handle the meeting with the investor's?" Will nodded as he watched Bart flip open his phone and walk out the door.

**A/N: So basically this was my take on how Chuck got his signature scarf, and what finally convinced Bart to give Chuck the company in his will. Hope you liked it! If so please review! Thank you all!!!**


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